7/25/2019 – Vidit Gujrathi didn't play perfect chess, but his slow and steady build-up was too much for Peter Leko to take, and the Indian GM now takes over sole lead in the tournament. Nodirbek Abdusattorov handed Sam Shankland a defeat in the 4.d3 Anti-Berlin after the 2018 US Champion lost his objectivity and overextended his queenside. Parham Maghsoodloo's loss of form turned worrying, as an overestimation cost him a sure draw, with Jorge Cori being the lucky beneficiary. | Photos: Simon Bohnenblust / Biel Chess Festival
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more. ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their brilliant games and explain the ideas behind the moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a direct download (incl. booklet as pdf file) or booklet with download key by post. Included in delivery: ChessBase Magazine #225 as “ChessBase Book” for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.!
The aim of these Dvd's is to build a repertoire after 1.c4 and 2.g3 for White. The first DVD includes the systems 1...e5, the Dutch and Indian setups. The second DVD includes the systems with 1...c5, 1...c6 and 1...e6.
Which pieces are good, which are bad, and what can you do about it? Master this principle with this video course!
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Abdusattorov outsmarts Shankland
It's been a roller coaster ride in Biel so far. Initially the higher rated players had all the fun, then the underdogs entered the party and finally players in improving form started to win games. Nodirbek Abdusattorov won his first classical game to pull back to an even score and among other decisive games the tail-enders made up lost ground to make it an exciting event. Abdusattorov finally settled his nerves and outplayed Sam Shankland from a 4.d3 Anti-Berlin to hand the American a painful loss. Jorge Cori found respite after an average start, beating the off-kilter Maghsoodloo in a wonderful counter-attacking game from the black side of a French Advance. The all Swiss duel between Georgiadis and Bogner ended in a tame draw.
At the top of the overall rankings, the leaders switched places (maybe not for the last time) today. Vidit Gujarathi (pictured) has turned on the afterburners after a bad start in the rapids, and today he didn't give any significant chances to Peter Leko en route to winning a crucial game and taking sole lead.
Time to take a trip to the deep end...
Vidit 1-0 Leko
If Vidit goes on to win the tournament, he will definitely point this game out as the turning point. Yesterday he escaped by the narrowest of margins against Shankland, and today he converted after an arduous struggle against the dogged Peter Leko. Having faced all the strongest players first and scoring 7.0/9, Vidit is in pole position with four rounds of Classical chess to go. Here are the critical moments of the encounter:
Vidit-Leko
Position after 2.g3
Vidit goes for the English with Marin's move order: 1.c4 followed by 2.g3
The first DVD includes the systems 1...e5, the Dutch and Indian setups.
Position after 6...♜b8
Leko goes for a relatively rare plan involving an early queenside expansion, starting with 6...♜b8.
Position after 7...a6
Press the green stop light to indicate the solution
Vidit played 8.♖b1 here, which looks natural and is a perfectly good decision. However, some calculation would have led him to greener pastures. Can you find an interesting alternative for White instead?
8.b4 was played by GM Matthieu Cornett in December 2017 and leads to interesting play.
Position after 11.axb4
White is slightly better despite the structure being nearly symmetrical, because he is just two moves from completing development, while Black's pieces are a little loose. Here Leko played the natural 11...♞f6 and was soon in trouble. Can you find a better move? Black to play.
11...♝g4 slows White down as 12.d4 would be well met by ...♝xf3
Position after 12...Bf5
White to play and get a huge advantage
Again, your job is to play better than the Indian No.3. Remember the golden rule in chess — there are no rules, only guidelines!
Position after 17.Nc5
Despite Vidit's inaccuracy, he soon found himself in this formidable position. The key thing to note is the difference between the knight on c5 and f6. That is the key nuance that guarantees White a large positional advantage.
Position after 20.Qb3
After a few more moves we reach this position where surprisingly Black is in a mild middlegame zugzwang! His pieces can't get to better squares, and the weakness of the b5 and d5 pawns is significant. It would not be wrong to say that White is close to winning.
The two most solid players produced one of the most exciting games in the tournament so far! | Photo: Simon Bohnenblust / Biel Chess Festival
Position after 45.Rxd5
After some twists and turns, Vidit was two pawns up. The rest was about mopping up correctly.
The Caro Kann is a very tricky opening. Black’s play is based on controlling and fighting for key light squares. It is a line which was very fashionable in late 90s and early 2000s due to the successes of greats like Karpov, Anand, Dreev etc. Recently due to strong engines lot of key developments have been made and some new lines have been introduced, while others have been refuted altogether. I have analyzed the new trends carefully and found some new ideas for Black.
It went downhill for Leko after a few inaccurate opening moves | Photo: Simon Bohnenblust / Biel Chess Festival
Abdusattorov 1-0 Shankland
While technically not an earth shattering result, it is definitely surprising, considering how well Sam has been playing since crossing 2700. Due credit must be given to the young phenom, who played a nearly faultless game to get the better of the top seed. Here are a few highlights:
Is this an announcement to the world by the Uzbek prodigy? | Photo: Simon Bohnenblust / Biel Chess Festival
Abdusattorov-Shankland
Position after 18.Nc4
White has a small advantage due to his better development, but nothing that can't be neutralized. Here Sam had to go for 18...♝e6! completing his development. Instead, 18...b5? was perhaps a loss of objectivity. After 19.axb5 cxb5 20.♘a5! White had a serious advantage.
Position after 22.d5
White is better due to the following factors: The d5 pawn is passed, protected and prevented Black from occupying d6, the knight on a5 is an ideal blockader of the queenside pawn roller and Black's queenside pieces are still on their initial squares without much scope.
Position after 29...Bd7
Black grabbed a pawn, but that is his only achievement in the game so far. White's pieces are super active, and it was time to open the queenside with 30.b3! creating decisive threats. But 30.♖a3!? — played in the game — is weaker, but has its logic too. Abdusattorov wanted to advance his centre.
Position after 36.e5
Black's best chance was 36...♜xc7! 37.bxc7 ♞d5. Though White remains better, Black has fighting chances due to his queenside majority. Instead, 36...fxe5?! was simply bad, allowing White to finish the game off ruthlessly.
Ever since the Kasparov-Kramnik WCh match (London 2000) players with the white pieces have been breaking their teeth biting on the Berlin Wall in the Ruy Lopez. The situation from White’s point of view has become precarious – ducking it is equivalent to capitulation, because in all alternative variations to the Berlin endgame White gives up from the start on the struggle for an opening advantage. White has to find ways to crack open Black’s defence. There is hardly any other grandmaster of his class who is as well known for his uncompromising and creative play as the Latvian Alexei Shirov.
What shall I do? | Photo: Simon Bohnenblust / Biel Chess Festival
Maghsoodloo 0-1 Cori
Parham Maghsoodloo is suddenly struggling to find his form. After playing a good rapid tournament, he has suddenly lost two classical games in a row. It was a respite for his opponent Jorge Cori, who was fighting well but not getting a breakthrough. Well, it came in this game, which was full of interesting moments:
The World Junior Champion couldn't bring out his best today. | Photo: Simon Bohnenblust / Biel Chess Festival
Maghsoodloo-Cori
Position after 23...Nf5
It was time to take the draw after 24.♕f3 ♞h4 25.♕g4 ♞f5. Instead, 24.♗xf5? was too optimistic, and allowed Black to take over the game.
Position after 25...Kd8
While Parham's initial idea of the queen sacrifice was an inaccuracy, the move 26.♘xg4? was a mistake, as it allowed Black to win the b2 pawn by force. Instead, 26.♗xg4 retains a complex position with fighting chances for White.
Position after 28...d2
One can understand from the diagram that Black is completely winning, as the queenside pawns fall off and the d-pawn is too strong.
Final position after 36...Qb3
The final position shows how ruinous White's position actually is. A wonderful counter-punching effort by Jorge Cori!
The relative no-show of the round. With White, Nico didn't get much out of a Catalan, and Bogner simplified into a drawn bishop ending. There was an intriguing moment where White could have complicated play:
Georgiadis-Bogner
Position after 17...Be8
White's best chance to fight for an advantage was with f4!? trying to expand on the kingside and not volunteering to an exchange of rooks. Instead, after Qc5!? the game ended peacefully soon enough.
The all Swiss duel was as friendly as it sounds | Photo: Simon Bohnenblust / Biel Chess Festival
Overall standings
Rank
Name
Games
Classic
Rapid
Blitz
Total
1
GM Santosh Vidit
10
7
8
0
15
2
GM Peter Leko
10
4
10
0
14
3
GM Sam Shankland
10
4
9
0
13
4
GM Jorge Cori
10
4
7
0
11
GM Parham Maghsoodloo
10
3
8
0
11
6
GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov
10
4
5
0
9
7
GM Nico Georgiadis
10
2
6
0
8
8
GM Sebastian Bogner
10
4
3
0
7
Vidit takes over the lead with four rounds of classical chess and the blitz section still to come. Can he maintain his momentum?
Tanmay SrinathTanmay Srinath has been writing for ChessBase India since quite some time now. His tournament reports and depth of analysis have been widely appreciated. Pursuing a full-fledged career in engineering Tanmay doesn't get enough time to pursue chess, but he loves to follow top-level encounters and analyzes those games with his Fat Fritz engine. We hope you find his analysis useful in your games.
Throughout the video course, Sasikran shows various examples from his career to explain sacrifices for initiative, an attack, a better pawn structure and much more.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Trompowsky Powerbook 2025 is based on 53,000 computer games from the engine room of playchess.com as well as 49,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Trompowsky Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 8727 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 316 are annotated.
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
Powerbook based on more than 618 000 games in which White already sidesteps the main variations of the Sicilian on move 2.
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It's been a roller coaster ride in Biel so far. Initially the higher rated players had all the fun, then the underdogs entered the party and finally players in improving form started to win games. Nodirbek Abdusattorov won his first classical game to pull back to an even score and among other decisive games the tail-enders made up lost ground to make it an exciting event. Abdusattorov finally settled his nerves and outplayed Sam Shankland from a 4.d3 Anti-Berlin to hand the American a painful loss. Jorge Cori found respite after an average start, beating the off-kilter Maghsoodloo in a wonderful counter-attacking game from the black side of a French Advance. The all Swiss duel between Georgiadis and Bogner ended in a tame draw.
